<<  -- 3 --  David Thompson    NAUGHTY BUT NICE

The setting and direction seemed just right for me. The time-frame was somewhat updated to the 1960s, in terms of décor and costume, the mini-skirts joyously emphasising a time when gentility and modesty were abandoned in favour of a more uninhibited and 'swinging' decadence. And, rather than being bidden to the circus at the outset, we were encouraged to don raincoats, and slink, furtively, into a highly dubious venue of 'Adult Entertainment', a touch that Wedekind would surely have applauded.

I have always admired the fine playing of the ENO orchestra, but I have never heard them in better form than they were in this most complex and difficult score. Because the playing was so assured, under Paul Daniel's excellent guidance, and, I suspect, meticulous preparation, we could abandon ourselves to Berg's glorious music, which is as it should be.

What a wonderful night out this Lulu was; as decadent and delicious as a large plate of the cream cakes that were once described in terms that fit this production equally aptly: naughty -- but nice, or, perhaps, in more recent argot, 'wicked!'